Airport costing taxpayers around $60,000 a yearMembers of the Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee voted during their meeting Tuesday to let hangar leases at Russellville Regional Airport expire and to work on the airport becoming self-supporting through rate increases. Airport Director Keith Frazier explained that the committee formed by Mayor Randy Horton met on April 11 and recommended for the council’s approval to extend all current hangar leases to 40-year terms from their co...

PCSO auctions off unused guns to buy riflesUsing profits from selling previously purchased and donated firearms to a licensed gun dealer, the Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) will outfit its deputies with AR-15s. A legal notice in a local newspaper informed gun dealers with a Class 3 Federal Firearms License that bidding on suppressors and weapons such as submachine guns, machine pistols and assault rifles would open at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the Pope County Judge's Office. The weap...

Builders to discuss fire station budgetThe architect and contractor for the new Central Fire station met with half the Russellville City Council on Tuesday and said they believed there was a shot to reduce costs to get within the projected construction cost. Last week, Van Horn Construction submitted the lowest construction bid of $6,140,000 out of five contractors. Jackson Brown Palculict Architects of Little Rock, represented at Tuesday’s meeting by H.F. “Bunny” Brown, president,...

New Federal law challenges local sheltered workshopsFor 38 years, Mike Meador has looked forward to the days he goes to work at MARVA Workshop, Inc. Paulette Meador, Mike’s mother, is grateful he has a safe and purposeful work environment with co-workers who feel like family. “The staff at MARVA is like extended family, and the clients are all friends,” she said. An act that will take full effect on July 22 has put Mike’s job and the jobs of many others at sheltered workshops into question. The...

Some Cove Landing residents want to discuss annexationA resident of Cove Landing has invited his neighbors and any interested parties to an information meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on the first floor of Russellville City Hall. Ben Slater said the meeting will be about the prospect of his area being annexed by the city of Russellville. “You don’t need a ticket to get in,” Slater said about the meeting, adding that the primary reason behind the possibility of annexation was fire coverage and the c...

Roadshow set to educate public on FOIAThe Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Roadshow will hit Doc Bryan Student Services Building room 242 at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The Roadshow is put on my Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and the Arkansas Press Association (APA). The Roadshows are informal workshops on FOIA and include the FOIA Made Simple presentation by the Attorney General’s office, which details responsibilities and rights covered by the Act relating to public meeting...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Roadshow set to educate public on FOIAThe Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Roadshow will hit Doc Bryan Student Services Building room 242 at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The Roadshow is put on my Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and the Arkansas Press Association (APA). The Roadshows are informal workshops on FOIA and include the FOIA Made Simple presentation by the Attorney General’s office, which details responsibilities and rights covered by the Act relating to public meeting...

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

No foul play suspected in Tuesday shootingDOVER — The Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) suspects no foul-play after a shooting on Tuesday at a residence around the 3000 block of State Road 164 East, although a woman was taken in for questioning. PCSO, along with the Dover Marshal's office responded to a call of a male subject with a gunshot wound. The subject was treated on scene by Dover First Responders and Pope County EMS and later transported by Med-Flight to an undisclosed hosp...

School gets new playground equipmentStudents giggled as they were sprinkled with holy water at the ribbon cutting for new playground equipment on Friday afternoon at St. John Catholic School in Russellville. The new equipment was funded by local businesses and community members after their old playground equipment was deemed “too old and unsafe.” “We asked people in the community and parents for help,” Mary Bartlett, chair of the playground committee, said. “It is so wonderful t...

City council hears update on Public WorksThe Russellville City Council received the annual report and an engineering update from Public Works Director Kurt Jones during a recent meeting at City Hall. Jones explained that the department completed work on projects which included White Oak Lane drainage replacement; University sidewalks; downtown curb repair; extension of Bernard Way; repair of Interstate Drive; site work at Fire Station No. 3; installation of a foundation, sidewalks an...

Shots fired on Independence leads to arrestRobert Brockman, 49, had his bond set at $5,000 during felony bond hearings with District Judge Don Bourne on Monday inside the Pope County Detention Center. Brockman was arrested on May 7 after Russellville Police officers responded in reference to shots fired at approximately 8:31 p.m. at the 200 block of South Independence Avenue. When officers made contact with the victim, she told police that her younger brother, Brockman, had attacked he...

Senators file amendment to block Clean Line fundingWASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Dardanelle) and John Boozman (R-Rogers) filed an amendment last month to block funding to the Plains and Eastern Clean Line high-voltage transmission line proposal. Cotton and Boozman have attempted to block all federal funds to the $2.5 billion project that would include construction through the Arkansas River Valley, a proposed converter station to be built in Pope County and the promise of thou...

Pottsville seniors place third in Project PreventPOTTSVILLE — Three Pottsville High School seniors recently placed third in the beginner division of Project Prevent, a Stamp Out Smoking tobacco prevention program. Each year, students in grades seventh through 12th throughout the state can submit video and storyboard entries. Chase Garrison, Jake Dugger and Josh Dugger created the video submission titled “Homemade Cigarettes” as an assignment for Samantha Prince’s Digital Communications IV cl...

Special judge to be chosen for Ward caseDANVILLE — The Arkansas Supreme Court will appoint a special circuit judge for any cases that will involve the former director and secretary of Yell County EMS, after all three of the 15th Judicial District judges filed motions of recusal last month. Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey — the first who filed a motion of recusal and said he would not be the acting judge in the case against former EMS Director Sidney Ward and his wife, Donna — entered ...

Judge recuses from Yates trialDANVILLE — Yell County Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey said last month he would recuse himself from the trial of a man who was allegedly shot and charged with aggravated assault. According to Tom Tatum II, 15th Judicial District prosecuting attorney, David “Hoss” Yates was represented during an April 17 hearing by his attorney, James Dunham, who entered a written entry of appearance. Four days later, Ramey recused himself and plans to send a cou...

Pennington elected Professor of the Year at Arkansas Tech UniversityThe Arkansas Tech University student body has selected Thomas Pennington as professor of the year for the 2015-16 academic year. A native and resident of Clarksville, Pennington was chosen for the honor through voting sponsored by Arkansas Tech Student Government Association April 11-13. Pennington, who holds the academic rank of professor of legal studies, has served on the Arkansas Tech faculty since 1995. He is also associate vice president...

Crime report (May 8, 2016)• An Atkins man was arrested by Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Gerrad Huffman after a small glass pipe and a bag of marijuana was discovered in his possession. According to a report, the man said he gotten into an argument with his mother and was walking to his father’s residence on Twin Dikes Road. The deputy offered to give the man a ride and searched him for his safety before he was put in the patrol car and taken to the Pope County Detention...

Protect: Free gun locks offered DANVILLE — The Danville Police Department is among local agencies that participate in the Project Childsafe program. Police Chief Rick Padgett explained the Project Childsafe program is a nonprofit organization which allows participating police departments the opportunity to distribute cable locking style gun locks, that work on any style of gun, to families with guns in their home. The goal is to prevent injuries and deaths caused by firearms...